UK- Beatbullying reveals extent of 'sexting' amongst British teenagers

8-4-2009 United Kingdom:

Material is often Bluetoothed, added to home built websites, uploaded onto social networking groups and sent around by email or text.

Cases of sexting have been well documented in the US and Australia, but little is known of young people’s exposure to sexting and other forms of peer to peer (sexual) anti social behaviour via mobile phones and the internet. Beatbullying’s research of 11-18 year-olds found that:

* 38% said they had received a sexually explicit or distressing text or email (male: 36% | female: 39%)

* 70% of young people knew the sender of the message.

* 45% of messages were from a peer, 23% from a current boyfriend / girlfriend and just 2% from adults

* Of the 25% who received an offensive sexual image, 55% were issued via mobile phone

* 29% have been chatting online chat when someone started talking about offensive or up-setting sexual things (male: 24% | female: 31%)

* In this instance, 45% said the chat was instigated by a peer, 10% by an ex-partner and 2% by an adult

These statistics support Beatbullying’s work by providing further evidence to highlight that peer to peer anti-social/predatory behaviour is one of the biggest threats facing our young people today online and via mobile phones.

Emma –Jane Cross, chief executive of Beatbullying, said: “Beatbullying surveyed two thousand young people to understand how technology is changing the way they’re communicating and look at how they’re manipulating digital media to bully and pressurise their peers.

“We don’t want to inhibit young people in their exploration of sexuality, but it is important that parents and schools are aware that sexting is a significant issue amongst our children and young people, so together we can act to stop this kind of behaviour before it escalates into something far more problematic. This is about campaigning for the rights of our young people and for digital safety. We need to address the fact that sexual peer to peer contact is being exponentially facilitated through new technologies.

“The Byron report made a commitment to protecting our young people in this complicated new online era, the Government has a duty to ensure it meets these recommendations.

“We need to take series note of what has happened in the US and Australia. To avoid similar cases here, politicians must work together with organisations like Beatbullying to create an intervention and prevention task force in schools and communities.

“This needs to be part of the solution if we are to educate our young people, teachers and families about the consequences of their actions and how to keep safe online as well as offline.”

In a major step to tackle the bullying epidemic head on, Beatbullying launched the world’s first peer mentoring social networking site www.cybermentors.org.uk in March 09. For the first time, a young person suffering at the hands of bullies both on and offline can seek immediate help and support from their peers.

Since its launch in March, over 150,000 young people have accessed Beatbullying’s CyberMentors website to seek help and support from their peers.

Definition of Sexting: A portmanteau of sex and texting, Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between mobile phones and/or the internet. Sexting is an extension of cyberbullying when someone (or a group of people) deliberately attempts to hurt, upset, threaten or humiliate someone else. This includes when a recipient is made to feel uncomfortable as a direct result of the content, or asked to do something which makes the recipient feel distressed. ..Source.. by BBC

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UK- Teenagers 'bullied by sex texts'

8-4-2009 United Kingdom:

More than a third of under-18s have been sent a distressing sexually explicit digital message, a survey by the charity Beatbullying suggests.

A large majority of the 2,094 respondents said a fellow teenager had sent it, compared with 2% who said an adult had sent the message.

The charity said "sexting" constituted bullying and was a growing problem.

Beatbullying asked 2,094 teenagers aged 11-18, and 38% had received distressing sexual content via new technologies.

Just more than half (55%) of those said it had been sent by mobile phone.

The most common ways of communicating sexually explicit material are via Bluetooth, by uploading it on to a personal website or social networking site, or by e-mailing and texting it to individuals, Beatbullying said.

Some 45% of teenagers who had received explicit content said it had come from another teenager, and 23% said it was from their boyfriend or girlfriend.

Nearly one in three said they were using an online messaging service when content of a distressing sexual nature was introduced.

A higher proportion of women than men said this was the case - 31% as opposed to 24%.

'Significant issue'

Last year, psychologist Dr Tanya Byron carried out a review of children's use of technology and recommended a taskforce be set up to spearhead protection measures in schools and the community.

But she said the role of parents was absolutely vital in managing teenagers' access to potentially harmful material.

In response, the government set up the UK Council on Child Internet Safety, an umbrella group of organisations working in the field.

Beatbullying's chief executive, Emma-Jane Cross, said new technology was facilitating sexual contact between teenagers and that this needed to be addressed.

"We don't want to inhibit young people in their exploration of sexuality, but it is important that parents and schools are aware that 'sexting' is a significant issue among our children and young people, so together we can act to stop this kind of behaviour before it escalates into something far more problematic."

She said prominent cases of teenagers who had harmed themselves after experiencing such bullying had led to a debate in the US and Australia. ..Source.. by BBC

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